Glen Haven village is an intriguing example of changing times in history and a great stop on your visit to the historic properties in Sleeping Bear! It was a great stop for the steamships from 1865-1884 too where they restocked cordwood on their way from Chicago. The resident immigrant woodcutters found nearly everything they needed in this tiny village. Today you’ll find the maritime museum, (previously the Sleeping Bear Life-saving Station), blacksmith shop, boat museum (cannery), general store, and the Sleeping Bear Inn – the oldest inn in the national park – all open for your enjoyment! The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail runs right through the village.
The History
When coal replaced wood as a fuel source around 1884, David Henry Day started a successful lumber business that ran until the 1920s. As timber declined, D.H. Day established the Glen Haven Canning Company – preserving local cherries for the flourishing cherry industry. The U.S. Lifesaving Station was built in 1901 to rescue passengers of ships in trouble in the Manitou Passage.
In 1928 the inn was rehabilitated in anticipation of an exclusive summer resort development on Alligator Hill until the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression derailed plans. The inn was then purchased by the Warnes family catering exclusively to summer tourists. Entrepreneurs rode the tourism wave by offering activities such as dune buggy rides which operated out of Glen Haven in the 1960s. In 1972 the buildings were purchased by the national park and the inn and rides ceased operations.
For over 25 years Glen Haven sat idly in a state of slow decay. A new era dawned for Glen Haven as the Park began to implement restoration and interpretive plans from 1994, completing extensive work projects on the Inn, re-opening the general store and blacksmith shop to visitors. Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear also stood ready to complete projects here at the park’s request.
In 2021, the park entered into a historic leas agreement with a new nonprofit B.E.A.R. to restore and re-open the Inn. As of August 2024, the inn is open for business accommodating visitors into the future! Glen Haven has re-awakened, like the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. Be sure visit us at the Port Oneida Heritage Center at 3164 W. Harbor Hwy.
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